Suki Waterhouse on laid-back beauty and hardcore exercise

Susannah Taylor met with model, kooky Suki Waterhouse to talk about using lipstick as blusher, her love of exercise and her ultimate hatred of hairspray...

This week I met with Suki Waterhouse as she got ready for the Burberry menswear show. Brit It Girl, face of Burberry Beauty and all-round super cool chick, Suki was relaxed, funny, self assured and self deprecating. Beautiful in a soft, wide-eyed 60’s sort of way, she reminded me of a young Marianne Faithful (it won’t be the first time someone has said that I know).

I chatted to her whilst she shaved her legs (no water, just foam and a razor) had her hair preened - “A strong side-parting with soft broken waves,” said hairdresser Daniel Martin - and her makeup applied, “A slightly 70s-inspired but slighty folky look,” said Jacqui Hamilton-Smith, the makeup artist who created her look here (see list below). Meanwhile, we chatted about Suki’s beauty stash...

On Makeup...

ST: What 5 products are always in your makeup bag?

SW: “My favourite products are Burberry Fresh Glow in No.01 Nude Radiance - which is a luminescent veil for skin. Then I love the Eye Colour Creams in Gold Copper and Mink because I can’t make a mistake with them, and I can gradually add to them. If I want to intensify it I will add some Vaseline to get a slightly sweaty look. I’ve always used lipstick on my cheeks but now I use the Light Glow Blusher in Rose Blush 03 which is the ultimate blush as you can apply it with fingers and I don’t own a makeup brush. I love it because it’s mini too - I’m against large heavy makeup! If I’m doing my own makeup for going out I will always create some sort of cat eye - I’m not great at it - but I do it with a kohl eyeliner and then smudge it in.”

ST: Are there any top beauty tips you’ve learnt off the experts that you now do?

SW: “Yes, I’ve been using bronzer just slightly under my chin to add a bit of contouring and I use a little highlighter on my nose, cheeks and eye lids. I also put a tiny bit of Vaseline on my eyelids and tops of cheekbones for a slight sheen. Another tip I learnt from Burberry makeup artist Wendy Rowe is to brush up my eyebrows and to fill them in at the top to make them look extra full and lifted. I think eyebrows are the most important thing for framing your face.”

On style….

ST: Whose style do you admire?

SW: "For fashion I love Patti Smith – some of the most stylish people have a uniform. There’s something I love about someone who doesn’t need a load of new stuff - for me that’s the dream, to be comfortable with a bunch of the same shirts and that being it. That would be so cool and I just think of the space I’d have! For beauty – Janice Joplin because she had such big hair and I’m always trying to make my hair larger and bigger. I like the idea of large hair and not too much makeup . I also really admire Marianne Cotillard, Diane Kruger and people who are innately cool like LouLou Douillon, Jane Birkin’s daughter."

ST: How would you describe your style?

SW: “My style goes through phases – when I’m in London it changes as I have all my stuff around me, and when I’m travelling I end up living out of a suitcase and just buying stuff depending on what country I’m in. In London I find it way more inspirational - I was even just walking down Oxford Street the other day and you are just hit with street style, which I miss when I’m away. I feel everyone tries a bit harder here which is good. I love a load of different looks, ranging from cave woman to 60’s glamorous, to cat woman."

ST: What’s the ‘cavewoman’ look?

SW: “It’s like a shawl and khaki trousers – nothing being tight on me. I’m a big fan of no tightness. Because I do lots of shoots, sometimes you can be really uncomfortable, and in my own time now I don’t want to be constricted - I just want to be really comfy. If I’m going to go for it and dress up then pain is ok, but in my own time I just want to be in loose stuff that I can run in - in street style you should always be in shoes you can run in!”

SW: “I’m really careful in the sun - I never used to be but I’m now quite nervy about it. I use suncream every day and usually wear a product that’s got it in it.”

On her hair….

ST: How do you style your hair yourself?

SW: “I use Evo Haze Styling Powder for volume - that’s my favourite - it gives it a plump fullness and makes it look messy, but in a sexy done undone way. I hate hairspray - I think it's really unneccessary. I do love the Oribe Dry Shampoo though - if i’m going out I will shove some of that in my hair. I really hate looking too done, it makes me actually feel sick. You can’t get a good blowdry in LA as they are the worst - they put ringlets in your hair and spray it so it's like concrete. As for shampoo and conditioner, it’s usually whatever I get in a hotel.”

SW: “I go to Yvonne Martin for facials and Waterhouse Young Clinic for Hyaluronic Acid treatments. As for my hair – I went through a really bad phase of cutting it myself, but generally I get it cut by different people.”

ST: Do you think you will always have long hair?

SW: “Yes I think so, I have had it shorter before - it might be quite cool to have a bob at some point, but there’s that fear of regretting it. There’s safety in long hair.”

On her body…

ST: Do you workout?

SW: “I do, I really enjoy it; I need to, I’m obsessed. I stopped working out recently as I was on a film and I was really tired and I then went to the gym a few times and found I was so much more able to perform with my body feeling that strength through it again. And mentally, I was going on set and able to do my job better as I felt stronger again. I do different things - I do Vinyasa yoga and I’ll work out with a trainer Dan Roberts in Richmond Park near where I live. I do drills and running there - it’s an amazing place. I love the idea of running up hills and rolling around in mud - it’s my favourite time of the week and Dan really pushes me. He’s hardcore. I also go to TriYoga and hot yoga (not Bikram) and I do occasional Pilates, which I should do more of."

ST: Do you follow a nutrition plan?

SW: “I had some blood tests done and they told me I shouldn’t really eat anything, so I can’t really follow it! I do know what I should and shouldn’t eat. I find it very difficult in London to be healthy. It’s too hard to follow any eating rules when I’m moving around so much."

ST: Is there anything you won’t eat?

SW: "No."

ST: Do you take supplements?

SW: “I take Lyposheric C but it smells like goat poo! And I take magnesium which is good for muscles and for after training, and zinc and iron. I’m a bit of a supplements addict - I have so many supplements - but I don’t take them every day as it’s not that much fun taking them. I also take aloe vera tablets which I like.”

On chilling out….

ST: How do you relax?

SW: “I paint - I’m not a great painter but I do it and I would like to take up life drawing again. Sometimes I go to a pottery class with some friends. I also do meditation, I have a woman who helps me do it on the phone. She guides me through a meditation from America, so I will call her before I go to bed but I often fall asleep and she has to hang up. She also gives me meditations and voice notes if I’m freaking out so that I can do it in my own time. It’s easy stuff, like your feet going into the ground and your head being filled up with sun.”

The beauty look on Suki was created using the following Burberry products:

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